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MOVIE REVIEW
While not exactly a golden rule, it is known fact that if a movie does well in the box office, chances are good that it will be followed by sequel and more often than not, we’ve come to expect that the sequel won’t measure up to the original. Add a third movie to the mix and you’re just asking for trouble. With animated movies, the expectations are often even lower. (Is anyone really surprised that the Ice Age movies keep getting worse?) But sometimes, as is the case with the Disney/Pixar Toy Story movies, we’re pleasantly surprised. Now you can add How to Train Your Dragon to that short list too.

One thing that DreamWorks Animation has understood about this series is that the story comes first, the hijinks come later. The very first Dragon movie proved that way back in 2010 with a strong story and with each chapter that has come after it, that story just keeps getting better. What started out as a cute kid’s story has become a powerful trilogy. We've seen these chara…

This Day in Pop Culture for August 4

‘Holiday Inn’ Premieres in New York
Ever wonder why the hotel chain, Holiday Inn, chose that name? It was inspired by the Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire musical, Holiday Inn which premiered at the New York Paramount Theatre on this day in 1942. Believe it or not, the movie’s plot centers around an inn that only opens on holidays and of course, each holiday offered good excuses for the two singers/dancers/actors to perform various musical numbers. The film contained 12 songs all written by Irving Berlin including “Easter Parade.” The movie earned an Oscar for Best Original Song (“White Christmas”) and two nominations for Best Score and Best Original Story (which was also written by Berlin). The movie also starred Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale. While the movie has been shown on TV numerous times over the years, one scene has often been edited out. During the song number “Abraham,” which appears during the celebration about President Lincoln’s birthday, a blackface minstrel show is incorporated into an act which has been seen as offensive by some viewers. Holiday Inn is often confused with the 1954 movie White Christmas which was sort of a remake, featured the same song and also starred Crosby. Astaire was also supposed to star in the latter film, but he declined.

First Amputee Competes in the Olympics
On this day in 2012 in London, Oscar Pistorius of South Africa became the first amputee to compete at the Olympics by running in an opening heat of the men’s 400-meter. Pistorius finished second out of five runners and advanced to the semifinals, where he finished eighth out of eight runners. Nicknamed “Blade Runner” because of the J-shaped carbon fiber blades he wears to run, Pistorius inspired people around the world. The future seemed bright for the athlete, but all of that changed in February of 2013 when Pistorius was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend. On September 12, 2013, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide. In June 2015, Pistorius was recommended for early release as early as August 2015, but is currently still serving his sentence. It was reported yesterday (August 3, 2017) that the paralympian was sent to the hospital presumably to treat a heart condition.

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MOVIES
It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since everything was awesome, at least in the world of Lego as seen in the original Lego Movie. Since then Lego-themed movies have been released, none of which have been as popular, lucrative or received as much praise from critics as the original.

Now the gang is back in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part but everything appears to be less awesome as Bricksburg has become Apocalypseburg and is getting worse when this world is threatened by Lego Duplo invaders from outer space. Still, just like is real life, Legos can always rebuild.

It takes a lot of physical and CGI Legos to create a movie. Here is a breakdown on how that looks:

2: The number of characters Chris Pratt, Stephanie Beatriz and Alison Brie play in the film. (Pratt plays Emmet and Rex Dangervest, Beatriz plays General Mayhem and Sweet Mayhem and Brie plays Unikitty and Ultrakitty)

3: The number of times Will Arnett has voiced the role of Batman in a Lego movie.

TVAmerica’s Got Talent: The Champions brought back 50 of the best acts from the different world versions of the show to compete one more time for the chance to win a really impressive (or tall) trophy, $25,000 cash and pretty incredible bragging rights. The two-hour presentation began with an hour full of filler of past acts, silly bits and interviews with the dozen remaining acts hoping to win.

Soon the 12 was whittled down to five including ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer, sand artist Kseniya Imonova, card magician Shin Lim, singer Cristina Ramos and comedian Preacher Lawson. And during the show’s last five minutes of the show the winner was revealed.